OLDaily

By Stephen Downes
September 17, 2004

College
Backs Off Wi-Fi BanA sign of the times - the
students' own personal Wi-Fi networks were (supposedly)
interfering with the university-run system, so the
administrators' first reaction was to ban the student
systems. Turns out, though, that they may not have the
authority to do so. Expect many more stories like this, as
the question of Wi-Fi network interference has not been
completely solved. By Richard Shim , CNet News.Com,
September 16, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

Extending
the Web With Metadata Profiles Profiles are,
in a nutshell, a neat way of embedding XML-like information
in webpages, such as the information you might include
describing yourself in a FOAF file. According to the
author, "Common use of profiles would make it possible to
express a vast array of information without having to
resort to convoluted, heavily-abstracted solutions like
RDF" (note that FOAF is a type of RDF document). Well,
maybe. I think that the sentiments in this article are in
the right place, though the implementation may need to be
thought through a bit more - a lot of data is exchanged
through RSS and similar XML, where the profiles approach
won't work. By ubernostrum , Kuro5hin, September 16, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

The
Content ConundrumA fun dialogue in the great
tradition of gentle satire looking at some of the
assumptions behind the idea of reusable learning objects.
"Q: So, RLOs, where will they come from? A: Good question,
and one that seldom gets asked. There's tacit agreement
that you and I will be creating RLOs." There's some good
information behind the links - the colour is subtle so be
watching for it. Also some good observations in the
comments. By David Davies, David Davies' Weblog , September
16, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

WebCT
and Online Assessment: The Best Thing Since
SOAP?By SOAP the authors mean not web
services but Student Online Assessment Program. This essay
looks at what may be the best thing since then, the WebCT
quiz application. Nice discussion of the evolution of SOAP
and a nice chart near the middle of the essay comparing
SOAP with the WebCT feature. It's hard to adapt to a new
system, but even after getting used to WebCT the authors
found themselves facing limitations felt by many WebCT
users: "When you are creating questions the first
limitation you become aware of is that course assessment
must be adapted to fit the WebCT question templates and
there is no opportunity to create new question types or
test formats to suit the unique requirements of a course."
Even so, they continue to use WebCT - perhaps there is a
lesson in that. Via Teaching
and Developing Online. By Den Pain and Judy Le Heron,
Educational Technology & Society, some time in 2003
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

The
Wrath of Kaa: A Letter to the Editors of The Register
David Wiley rips into the editors of the
Register with an uncharacteristically - but absolutely
welcome - passion. According to the Register, "there's no
authority, training, or experience among the people who
want to give information away and change education." This,
of course, comes as a great surprise to Wiley, who
demonstrates no lack of qualifications himself. A wonderful
read and a side of Wiley that I'd like to see much much
more often. (Noted in the comments - another
open education initiatiove from India.) By David Wiley,
autounfocus, September 16, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]

Student-recruitment
Tactics at University of Phoenix Blasted by FedsThis is the sort of item that confirms all the fears
raised by those who worried about the implications of
commercial online learning. According to this article, the
University of Phoenix employed pressure sales tactics in an
effort to recruit students, tactics that alerted the
interest of regulators and may lead to large fines. Via
University Business. By Dawn Gilbertson, Arizona Republic,
September 16, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect]